LaGarrette Blount hopes to be part of Patriots running back mix

FOXBORO — While Tom Brady has successfully led the New England Patriots’ offensive attack for a dozen years now, finding a complementary running attack has often met with mixed results.The Patriots did...

FOXBORO — While Tom Brady has successfully led the New England Patriots’ offensive attack for a dozen years now, finding a complementary running attack has often met with mixed results.

The Patriots did enjoy some productive years when the power of Antowain Smith and Corey Dillon, or the shiftiness of Kevin Faulk blended with Brady’s passes. But in 2013 the chase goes on.

A year ago the Pats got a big year from Stevan Ridley. In just his second season, Ridley ran for 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns. Ridley may again carry the load next season, but depth is a concern. The Patriots let second-leading rusher Danny Woodhead walk (to San Diego via free agency) and will hope for more consistency from youngsters Shane Vereen and Brandon Bolden.

To add more competition to the position, coach Bill Belichick engineered a trade at the end of the draft when he shipped kick returner/Olympic sprinting hopeful Jeff Demps to Tampa Bay in exchange for LeGarrette Blount. The Patriots obviously weren’t happy that Demps didn’t want to commit to football full-time, and Blount had grown out of favor in Tampa where rookie star Doug Martin had taken his job and rushed for 1,454 yards.

In his first two years in the NFL, Blount led the Bucs in rushing. As a rookie, he rolled for 1,007 yards. In 2011 he dropped to 781. Then Martin arrived and became the featured back.

Blount offers the Patriots something the team hasn’t seen since Dillon was in town a big, tough back. At 6-feet and 247 pounds, the 26-year-old Blount is difficult to bring down.

“I’m just a big, physical running back,” Blount said. “Me being the size that I am is good for me and the style that I use to run the football. I’m a downhill, physical running back. Kind of old school.”

Asked for a scouting report on Blount, longtime Patriots running back coach Ivan Fears said: “He’s big. He’s a big back. But we’ll see what LeGarrette’s going to be all about. It’s kind of hard to say who he’s going to be until he gets out here and shows us what he can do.”

On Tuesday, Blount was with his teammates participating in the Patriots’ final OTA (Organized Team Activities) workout. He moves both quickly and low to the ground. He is not a threat in the passing game and working on his blocking will be a focus for the Pats both in next week’s minicamp and in training camp in July. Along the way, he’s learning all about the so-called Patriot Way.

“I’m excited to be here,” said Blount. “It’s a winning program and we work a day at a time and everyone buys into everything that’s going on here. You get a lot of help from a lot of the guys that are surrounding you.”

Asked if the atmosphere in Foxboro is different from what he found in Tampa, Blount said: “You can tell from watching them on TV the expectations they have here. The I’m excited to get to be a part of this. Hopefully I fit in.”

Before he was traded to New England, Blount signed a one-year, $1.5-million contract. But with Martin in tow, he clearly was expendable and hinted Tuesday that a trade was far from a surprise.

“You learn it’s a business. There are some things you can’t control,” he said. “You come upon a good back like Doug — he’s an amazing running back. You can’t really put into words what I was feeling, so I just had to play my role and do what I could do.”

Now at a bit of a career crossroads, Blount is fighting both for a role with the Patriots and another chance at showing he can be the big, power back every team wants.

“I’m going to always feel like I have something to prove. As a football player and as a competitor, I just always feel like I have something to prove.”